Fact Sheet 33 - Family Stream Migration: Child
On this page
The family stream of Australia's Migration Program enables the reunion of immediate family members, including dependent children, adopted children, stepchildren, and orphan relatives.
While children can often be included in the application of their migrating parents they sometimes migrate separately. In this case they may apply for one of the child visas.
This fact sheet covers in general terms migration requirements for child visas, including Child, Orphan Relative and Adoption.
General information on the Family stream is available in Fact Sheet 29.
See: Fact Sheet 29 - Overview of Family Stream
Migration
Child visa
An applicant for a Child Visa must be the natural child, adopted child* or stepchild** of an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen, and must be sponsored by that parent or that parent's current spouse.
An applicant must be under 24 years of age. An applicant who has turned 18 must be a full time student and financially dependent on the parent supporting the application. These requirements to not apply to a child who has a disability that stops them from working.
The child must not be married, engaged to be married or living in a de facto (common law) relationship. If 18 or over, the child must never have had a spouse.
* A child applying outside Australia who was adopted after his or her parent became an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen, should apply for an adoption visa.
** A step child can only be granted a Child Visa if they are under 18, and their natural or adopted parent is no longer a spouse of the sponsoring step parent, and that sponsoring step parent has legal responsibility for the child.
Orphan Relative visa
An applicant for an Orphan Relative Visa must have no parents to care for them because their parents are dead, permanently incapacitated or of unknown whereabouts.
The child must have an Australian relative who is their brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. The Australian relative must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and must be settled in Australia. The child must be sponsored by the Australian relative or that person's current spouse.
The child must be under 18 years of age at the time of applying for the visa, and must not be married or living in a de facto (common law) relationship.
Adoption visa
In Australia, intercountry adoptions are the responsibility of state and territory welfare authorities. These authorities manage the arrangements for adopting children from overseas. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship provides advice only on how a child can be granted a visa to enter Australia.
The Adoption Visa is for a child who is overseas and who has been adopted or is in the process of being adopted by an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen.
In most cases the adoption must have the prior approval of a state or territory welfare authority. The only exception is when an adoptive parent has been residing overseas for a period of at least 12 months and that residence overseas was not contrived for the purpose of adopting the child.
For this visa, the child must be under 18 and must be sponsored by their adoptive parent or their prospective adoptive parent.
If the child was adopted before the sponsor became an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen, the child should apply for a Child visa.
More information on intercountry adoption is available in Fact Sheet 36.
See: Fact Sheet 36 - Adopting
Children from Overseas
Dependent Child (temporary)
A dependent child, whose parent holds a Partner (provisional) Visa, can apply for a Dependent Child (temporary) Visa. To be granted that visa, the child must be under 18 or financially dependent on their parent.
This visa enables a child to travel to or remain in Australia for the same period as their parent's Partner (provisional) visa. Once granted a Dependent Child (temporary) visa, the child should apply for the same permanent partner visa as their parent. The child must apply before their parent's permanent visa application is finalised.
Custody requirement
Whenever an applicant is under the age of 18, requirements relating to child custody must be met. This means that if there is any person other than the sponsor who can legally determine where the child should live, permission for the child to migrate must be obtained from that person. Alternatively a court order may be provided which allows the child to migrate...
Health and character requirements
Like all migrants, child applicants MUST be assessed against Australia's
health and character requirements.
See:
Fact Sheet 22 - The Health Requirement
Fact Sheet 79 - The Character Requirement
Assurance of Support
An Assurance of Support (AoS) is a legal commitment by a person to repay to the Australian Government any recoverable social security payments made by Centrelink to those covered by the assurance.
An AoS is also a commitment to provide financial support to the person applying to migrate, so that they will not have to rely on any government forms of support.
The assurance comes into effect from the day the assuree (migrant) arrives
in Australia, or the grant of a relevant visa to remain in Australia.
An AoS may be requested for a Child, an Orphan Relative or an Adopted Child
application if the child is assessed as likely to become a charge on the
Australian welfare budget. On 1 July 2004, Centrelink assumed responsibility
for all AoS assessments.
More information about the AoS is available in Fact Sheet 34.
See: Fact Sheet 34 - Assurance of Support
Limits on further applications
There are specific provisions in migration legislation to limit the potential for unsuccessful applicants in Australia to continually delay their departure from Australia by lodging successive applications.
A child who has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering Australia can only be granted a child or orphan relative visa if they have become a dependent child or an orphan relative since that visa was refused or cancelled.
Processing priorities
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has issued a Direction giving guidance to migration officers on the order of priority for processing family stream applications.
Highest processing priority is given to child applicants (including dependent
children, orphan relatives and children for adoption), spouses, fiancé(e)s
and interdependent partners.
See: Fact Sheet 37 – Processing Priorities
Other information
Information on Australian citizenship is available from the website.
See: www.citizenship.gov.au
Further information is available on the Citizenship enquiry line on 131 880.
Further information on applying for Child Visas, including application forms,
is available in the Child Migration booklet. This is available on the Department's
website or can be purchased for A$10 from any departmental office.
See: Booklet 2 Child Migration
Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au
The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.
Fact Sheet 33. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Revised 30 January 2007.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2007.